Updated 7/17/18. Vanderbilt Divinity School: Concentrations

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1 Vanderbilt Divinity School: Concentrations Black Religion and Culture Studies This concentration offers opportunity for study and research in the religions of the African diaspora, their spiritual, intellectual, moral, and cultural contributions towards transforming the world through institutors, social movements, and cultural politics of race, gender, sexuality, and class. Black Religion is an umbrella term for historically understanding the Black Church and other African derived religions in the Americas from their development during the Trans- Atlantic Slave Trade to the present and explores their creative, sacred powers of survival, resistance, and flourishing. Drawing on a wide range of resources in black biblical hermeneutics, African American religious history, Black philosophy and theology, African American religious Studies, womanist ethics, sociology and psychology, and cultural studies, the concentration is methodologically interdisciplinary. Learning Goals: Historical understanding of the development of Black religion and culture formations from African roots and beginnings in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade to the present. Explore creative and transformative cultural practices and institutions that empower the spiritual and moral universes of Black religion and culture. Critique social forces of oppression and transformative sources of liberation through interdisciplinary analyses. Current Steering Committee: Victor Anderson and Forrest Harris (Co-Conveners), Herbert Marbury, Juan Floyd-Thomas, Stacey Floyd-Thomas, Emilie Townes, Phillis Shepard Required Courses: None Praxis Fulfillment: One of the designated courses: DIV 5221 Social Action in the City DIV 5224 Liberation and Spirituality DIV 5226 Theology, Liberation and Ministry DIV 5236 Mobilizing for Justice: Advocacy among Children and Youth DIV 5248 Faith and Politics in Collective Violence and Globalization DIV 5250 Models and Practice of Justice DIV 7145 African American Social Ethics OR in consultation with Field Education faculty, a related placement and completion of a course in Supervised Ministry and/or Field Education. Two Year Course Projections: 5225 Harris Race, Religion, and Ethnicity in America 6765 JFT Introduction to Black Church Studies 7142 Townes Vexations: Religion and Politics in the Black Community* 7145 SFT African-American Social Ethics*

2 NEW Sheppard Spirituality and Social Activism 5226 Harris Theology, Liberation, & Ministry* 6514 Marbury Exodus in African American Popular Biblical Interpretation 6768 JFT Critical Readings in African American Religion: WEB DuBois 6773 JFT Reel Black Faith 6775 Anderson Seminar in Black Religion and Culture Studies, I 6845 Armour Feminist/Womanist Theology (?) Summer TBD Mobilizing for Justice: Advocacy Ministry with Children and Youth* 5250 Reside Models and Practices of Justice* 6528 Marbury Eight Century Prophecy 7029 Sheppard Evil, Aggression, and Cultural Trauma XXXX Segovia Minority Biblical Criticism (?) 5224 Harris Liberation and Spirituality* 6571 Marbury African American Biblical Hermeneutics 6776 Anderson Seminar in Black Religion and Culture II 7057 Sheppard Franz Fanon Psychology: Race, Gender and Religion 7132 SFT Womanist Theological Ethics 7133 SFT Womanist Literature as a Resource for Ethics 7137 Townes Political Economy of Misery NEW Sheppard Interiority and Sociality: Black Women s Experience and Social Change 5248 Anderson Faith and Politics in Collective Violence and Globalization* 6573 Marbury African American Biblical Interpretation I 6748 JHB History of the American South- Religion and Race (?) 6777 JFT Black Prophetic Discourse: MLK, Jr., Malcom X, and James Baldwin 7129 SFT/JFT Moral Philosophy of Black Popular Culture Summer TBD Mobilizing for Justice: Advocacy Ministry with Children and Youth* 7030 Sheppard Latin@/x Pastoral Care and Theology (Maymester) (?)

3 Chaplaincy (MDiv Only) The chaplaincy concentration provides MDiv students theoretical and practical knowledge to prepare them for vocations in variety of chaplaincy contexts. Learning Goals: Reflect theologically and pastorally on the practice of chaplaincy Understanding of institutional culture and systems for effective chaplaincy Facility with practicing ritual and prayer in interpersonal, communal, and public contexts Competence in theory and facility in the practice of pastoral counseling Current Steering Committee: Trudy Stringer (Convener), Bruce Morrill, Herbert Marbury, Phillis Sheppard Required Courses: None Praxis Options: Encourage and advise an additional Field Education option (beyond 7900 Supervised Ministry and Seminar) as one of the four courses; but open to adding a theory-praxis component to designated classes upon prior agreement of the professor and Concentration Convener. Course Projections: 6701 Budeway Introduction to Christian Worship 7031 Rogers-Vaughn Race and Class: Cultivating Radical Care 7037 Flesberg Shame and Guilt 7038 Flesberg Sexuality: Ethics, Theology, and Pastoral Practice 7042 Rogers-Vaughn Death and Dying 7222 Meador Ethics in Health Care: Critical Theological and Philosophical Perspectives NEW BMM Faith, Film, and Pastoral Care 6812 Morrill Theologies of Salvation 6845 Armour Feminist/Womanist Theology 6901 McClure Fundamentals of Preaching 6925 McClure Theology and Preaching 7021 BMM Women, Psychology, and Religion 7040 Flesberg Pastoral Theology for Transitions and Crises 7041 Flesberg Pastoral Care with Persons with Mental Health Disorders and Addiction 7053 Rogers-Vaughn Contemporary Psychotherapy and Pastoral Counseling Summer 2019

4 7029 Sheppard Evil, Aggression, and Cultural Trauma 6809 Morrill Eucharistic Theology 6926 McClure Collaborative Preaching 7042 Rogers-Vaughn Death and Dying 7222 Meador Ethics in Health Care: Critical Theological and Philosophical Perspectives 5242 Forrester Ministry in Higher Education 6518 Seow Job, Literature, and Visual Arts 6805 Morrill Christian Praxis: Liturgy and Ethics 6810 Morrill Participation: Ritual Theory and Theology 6901 McClure Fundamentals of Preaching 7003 Rogers-Vaughn Hope and Despair 7022 Rogers-Vaughn Men, Psychology, and Religion 7023 BMM Bodies and Theological Knowledge Summer Sheppard Pastoral Care and Theology (Maymester)

5 Global Christianities and Interreligious Encounter True and transformative knowledge of Christianity cannot exist without the study of other religions, their influence upon Christianity and its portrayals of these religious movements. Global Christianities and Interreligious Encounters engages the inexorably intercultural and interreligious nature of the various versions of Christianity from its very first days, whether Second Temple Judaism or religions of Rome in the first century, CE.; whether Islam from its birth or Hinduism, Buddhism and other religions as mercenaries, merchants and missionaries encountered them; and whether various new religious movements in the recent past. This Concentration offers a panoply of courses that are designed to introduce VDS students to the variety of encounters between various religious traditions and Christianity, and the mutual gaze that has influenced both sides. The telos of this Concentration is to help the larger VDS community students, alumni, and friends to become better equipped to understand the complexities and nuances of the historical contingencies of their version and vision of Christianity vis-à-vis other versions of Christianity as well as other religions. Learning Goals: Students will understand how religions emerge out of contact with one another. Students will recognize their traditions as contingent, thus open to interpretation, with an awareness of accompanying historical harms and benefits of their tradition. Further, they will value difference and become aware of the dynamics of Christian privilege, with a concomitant commitment towards transformative solidarity not guilt. Students will develop the capacity for deep listening and civil discourse across religious difference, thereby becoming more adroit in assessing religious traditions, building constructive alliances, and cultivating respect interreligiously. Current Steering Committee: Paul Lim (Convener), Annalisa Azzoni, Juan Floyd-Thomas, Jay Geller, Amy Jill Levine, Dave Michelson, Graham Reside, Leong Seow, Melissa Snarr Required Courses: None Additional Requirements: None Praxis Options: Strongly encourage a field education placement. Designated courses that emphasize the theorypraxis connection may also satisfy this requirement. Course Projections: 6706 Michelson Desert Spirituality in Early Christianity 7121 Snarr Religion and Social Movements* NEW Lim/McGregor Encountering the Other: Islam and Christianity in Conversation

6 Cross- List Caldwell/Neely Social Transformation as Depicted in Children and Young Adult Literature: Refugees and Immigrants (?) 5440 Geller Anti-Semitism and Jewish Identity 6503 Azzoni History of Ancient Israel 6526 Azzoni Jewish Life in Persian Egypt 6712 Michelson Religion, Society and Culture in Later Roman Empire 5443 Geller The Holocaust: Its Meanings and Implications 6608 Levine/Lim Jewish-Christian Relations: Historical Perspectives and Contemporary Concerns 6711 Michelson History of Syriac Christianity NEW Michelson Religion, Society, and Culture in Byzantine Empire 5242 Forrester Ministry in Higher Education 5430 Geller History of the Study of Religion: Fetishism 5434 Geller Religious Narrative and the Self 5480 Schneider Native American Religious Traditions (?) 6507 Azzoni Religions and Culture of ANE 6600 Levine New Testament (if not taken as a core course) 6706 Michelson Desert Spirituality in Early Christianity 6713 Lim History of Theodicy in Christian Traditions 6723 Michelson History of Early Christian Poetry 6745 Lim Evangelicalism, Pentecostalism, and the Shaping of Global Christianity 6777 JFT Black Prophetic Discourse: MLK, Jr., Malcom X, and James Baldwin 6796 Lim Human Rights, Human Trafficking and the Remaking of Global Christianity

7 Mediterranean and Near Eastern Cultures The cultures of the Mediterranean and Near East have exerted a formative influence on identity and practice in a number of religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Students in this concentration are invited to learn a variety of disciplinary approaches to the study of religion as part of the cultures of the Mediterranean and Near East. Although there are no chronological limits to the focus of this concentration, the course offerings focus primarily on ancient and medieval cultures and languages. The subjects studied through a variety sources including textual, linguistic, material, geographic, and visual evidence. The courses offer a variety of approaches drawn from the disciplines of history, philology, visual arts, literary analysis, gender analysis, biblical studies, post-colonial studies, and the social sciences. Students are particularly encouraged to diachronically examine the reception and intersection of cultural and social forms and institutions. Learning Goals: 1. Students will become familiar with the cultural and social history the Mediterranean and Near East as a context for the development of religious traditions. 2. Students will become familiar with textual, philological, and material approaches to the study of the religions of the ancient and medieval Mediterranean and Near East. 3. Students will gain facility in the teaching and research practices use to study the cultures of the Mediterranean and Near East. Current Steering Committee: David Michelson (Convener), Annalisa Azzoni, Leong Seow Required Courses: None. Additional Requirements: None Praxis Options: This could be satisfied by archeological work (Maymester courses such as DIV 6531 Jezreel Expedition), field education as an undergraduate teaching assistant (at Belmont or Vanderbilt), working as a faculty research assistant (for example on grant funded research in the digital humanities), or immersion courses in the Mediterranean or Middle East. Course Projections: The courses may not include the core courses in Hebrew Bible, New Testament, or Histories of Global Christianities (if taken as Core) Azzoni Introduction to Classical Syriac 5101 Seow Elementary Biblical Hebrew I 5103 Staff Beginning Greek I 5108 Staff Elementary Arabic I 6522 Azzoni Sexuality in the HB and Ancient Near East

8 6706 Michelson Desert Spirituality in Early Christianity 5102 Seow Elementary Biblical Hebrew II 5104 Staff Beginning Greek II 5109 Staff Elementary Arabic II 6503 Azzoni History of Ancient Israel 6514 Marbury Exodus in African American Popular Biblical Interpretation (?) 6526 Azzoni Jewish Life in Persian Egypt 6712 Michelson Religion, Society and Culture in Later Roman Empire Summer 2019 NEW Marbury Bible in Western Visual Media (?) 6528 Marbury Eight Century Prophecy 6531 Staff Jezreel Expedition* 5101 Seow Elementary Biblical Hebrew I 5103 Staff Beginning Greek I 5108 Staff Elementary Arabic I 5126 Staff Arabic of the Qu ran and Other Classic Texts 6524 Seow Ancient Near East Literature 6532 Azzoni Marriage in the Beginning 6550 Azzoni Elementary Akkadian I 6608 Levine/Lim Jewish-Christian Relations: Historical Perspectives and Contemporary Concerns 6711 Michelson History of Syriac Christianity NEW Michelson Religion, Society, and Culture in Byzantine Empire 5102 Staff Elementary Biblical Hebrew II 5104 Staff Beginning Greek II 5109 Staff Elementary Arabic II 6507 Azzoni Religions and Culture of ANE 6511 Seow Genesis ? Seow Job, Literature, and Visual Arts Title Change 6551 Azzoni Elementary Akkadian II 6573 Marbury African American Biblical Interpretation I (?) 6706 Michelson Desert Spirituality in Early Christianity 6723 Michelson History of Early Christian Poetry Summer Staff Jezreel Expedition*

9 Pastoral and Prophetic Congregational Leadership (MDiv Only) This concentration is designed for individuals intending upon careers in congregational ministry. It provides an opportunity to delve more deeply into the literature, problems, practices of ministry. Students in particular denominational traditions may be able to fulfil some of their ordination requirements in this concentration, but all students are challenged to think deeply about the intersectional dimensions of life in congregational community in twenty-first century North America. Students take designated courses from the school's offerings in three areas Perspectives on Contemporary Ministry, Leadership, and a contextual requirement in the area of Field Education or Clinical Pastoral Education. No course applied to the concentration may also be applied to the requirement in Ministerial Arts (i.e. no double counting). Learning Goals: Students will develop perspectives on contemporary ministry such that graduates will proceed into the further practice of ministry as thoughtful and engaged leaders. Students will attain skills in the practice of ministry applicable to the practice of congregational leadership. Students will engage in an additional unit of congregationally based field education in order to grow under supervision in the capacity for leadership and self-awareness of their own gifts. Current Steering Committee: Jim Hudnut-Beumler (Convener), Forrest Harris, Viki Matson, John McClure, Mark Miller-McLemore, Joe Pennell Praxis Options: An additional semester (or equivalent) experience in supervised ministry beyond field education is required of each MDiv. student in this concentration. This is to be negotiated with Ms. Matson or Ms. Stringer, as per the needs and vocational plans of the students and may include CPE, Advanced Field Education or Independent Study and Practicum in Field Education. (DIV 7902, 7903, 7904) Required Courses and Course Projections: Perspectives on Contemporary Ministry (3 or 6 hours) Courses in this grouping offer perspectives especially applicable to the understanding of practice of congregational ministry. These include the history of religious bodies and biblical interpretation used in congregations, the theology of particular traditions, the theory of approaches to ministry, pastoral lives, and worship MMM Seminar in Ministry: Pastoral Lives 6730 Various History of Religion in America 5226 Harris Theology, Liberation, & Ministry

10 5252 JHB The Reformed Traditions and Practices of the Presbyterian Church (USA) 5355 MMM History and Theology of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) 6791 Byrd The History of the United Methodist Tradition (2 hours) 6843 Rieger Theology in the United Methodist Tradition (2 hours) Summer Morrill Eucharistic Theology 5008 JHB Readings in Reformed Theology 5230 MMM Seminar in Ministry: Pastoral Lives 6573 Marbury African American Biblical Interpretation I 6843 Rieger Theology in the United Methodist Tradition (2 hours) Summer 2020 Leadership in Contemporary Ministry (3 or 6 hours) Courses in this grouping offer both a grounding in their subject matter and leadership skills and development opportunities for pastoral leaders in the sources themselves Pennel Mission of the Church in the World 5235 Caldwell Nurturing the Spiritual Life of Children and Families 6701 Budeway Intro to Christian Worship 6904 McClure Ethical Approaches to Preaching 6927 McClure New Perspectives on Preaching Title Change 7038 Flesberg Sexuality: Ethics, Theology, and Pastoral Practice 5350 Pennel United Methodist Church Polity & Practice (2 hours) 6901 McClure Fundamentals of Preaching 6925 McClure Theology and Preaching Summer MMM Seminar in Leadership: Prophetic Ministry in Mainline Congregations

11 5351 Pennel Evangelism in the Wesleyan Tradition 6926 McClure Collaborative Preaching 6940 McClure Sermon Analysis 5215 Harris Religious Leadership and Liberation Praxis 5350 Pennel United Methodist Church Polity and Practice (2 hours) 6901 McClure Fundamentals of Preaching Summer Godwin Sacred and Sexual: Effective Informed Sexuality Education for Faith Settings Additional Requirements: The Congregational Ministry Practice Festivals In addition to the other requirements of the concentration, students participate in the annual day long congregational ministry practice festival offered for returning 2nd and 3rd year students by the concentration in areas of preparation for exercising leadership in a congregational setting. Morning and afternoon workshops are offered just before the formal opening of the fall term in such areas as: Reading Scripture in public worship; Leading effective meetings; How to read budgets and exercise financial management; Managing staff, evaluating personnel, hiring, firing; Protecting the vulnerable safe congregational practices; Entering and reading congregational culture; The vocation of the pastor: Finding mentors and building a colleague group. The Concentration faculty team brings in other faculty and ministry practitioners to lead these workshops and a communal meal is held at mid-day. Senior Project Emphasis Students choosing this concentration are encouraged to pursue Senior Project topics related to some aspect of congregational leadership.

12 Prison and Carceral Studies This concentration provides VDS students with the opportunity to take up issues of incarceration from a theological perspective. Students will explore biblical, theological and historical documents as well as sociological data to deepen understanding of the current reality of punishment in the United States. We will explore what religious traditions have to contribute to critiquing the injustices of our justice system. Students will engage prisoners and formerly incarcerated citizens through our Riverbend Program as well as appropriate field education opportunities. We will pay particular attention to issues of race, class, gender and sexuality in the application of punishment in the United States and beyond, taking up the relationship of discipline and punishment in society. And we will develop theological and ethical reflection in relationship to these issues. What, for example, is the relationship of punishment and mercy? How are reconciliation and justice possible? The concentration draws on a broad range of disciplines and combines learning from those whose lives have been most affected by incarceration the incarcerated and their communities-- as well as scholars whose research and teaching focus on the development and analysis of the prison industrial complex. Learning Goals: To develop an understanding of the realities of mass incarceration in the United States. To explore the causes and consequences of prison, paying particular attention to issues of race, class, gender and sexuality. To mine religious/theological traditions for resources for disrupting the prison industrial complex, and the cradle to prison pipeline. Current Steering Committee: Graham Reside (Covener), Ellen Armour, AJ Levine, Paul Lim, Herbert Marbury, Dan Joranko Required Courses: None Additional Requirements: None Praxis Options: DIV 5350 Reside Models and Practices of Justice* DIV 5213 Reside Restorative Practices* OR in consultation with Field Education faculty, a related placement and completion of a course in Supervised Ministry and/or Field Education. Course Projections: 5212 Reside Life on Death Row 5225 Harris Race, Religion, and Ethnicity in America 5244 Joranko Spiritual Community and Social Witness (Riverbend) 5250 Reside Models and Practices of Justice* 7037 Flesberg Shame and Guilt 7142 Townes Vexations: Religion and Politics in the Black Community

13 5212 Reside Life on Death Row: Trauma and Compassion 6775 Anderson Seminar in Black Religion and Culture Studies, I 6812 Morrill Theologies of Salvation 7136 Reside Justice, Mercy, and Mass Incarceration Summer Reside Models and Practices of Justice* 6528 Marbury Eighth Century Prophecy 7029 Sheppard Evil, Aggression, and Cultural Trauma 5212 Reside Life on Death Row 6776 Anderson Seminar in Black Religion and Culture II (?) 7057 Sheppard Franz Fanon Psychology: Race, Gender and Religion 7137 Townes Political Economy of Misery 5212 Reside Life on Death Row 5245 Joranko Prisons, Poverty and Congregations 5248 Anderson Faith and Politics in Collective Violence and Globalization 6777 JFT Black Prophetic Discourse: MLK, Jr., Malcom X, and James Baldwin 7022 Rogers-Vaughn Men, Psychology, and Religion Summer Reside Restorative Practices (Maymester)*

14 Religion and Economic Justice Economic realities and faith traditions are closely related. Economic realities shape religious experiences, images, and practices at their core, even though this is often overlooked. Likewise, religion influences economics, providing both support and critique. The concentration on religion and economic justice is designed to investigate these interrelations and to address both the problems and the potential emerging at the intersection of religion and economics. Aspects include growing inequality as well as alternatives such as participatory economies and economic democracy, keeping in mind the intersections of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class. Learning Goals: Understand and investigate how economics, theology, and religion shape and influence each other. Engage economic thought and practice in relation to the history of Christian and other faith traditions in terms of similarities and differences. Analyze situations of economic injustice and develop viable alternatives informed by faith traditions in the context of the intersections of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class. Current Steering Committee: Stacey Floyd-Thomas (Convener F18), Joerg Rieger (Convener S19-), Juan Floyd-Thomas, Bruce Rogers-Vaughn, Fernando Segovia, Melissa Snarr, Required Courses: None. Additional Requirements: None Praxis Options: Encourage student to pursue a field education internship. Students may also satisfy this requirement with a designated theory-praxis course. Course Projections: 5244 Joranko Spiritual Community and Social Witness (Riverbend) 6645 Segovia Political Liberationist Biblical Criticism 7031 Rogers-Vaughn Race and Class: Cultivating Radical Care 7121 Snarr Religion and Social Movements* 7127 SFT Liberation Ethics 7145 SFT African-American Social Ethics 5220 Joranko Ecology, Religion, and Community Development 6768 JFT Critical Readings in African American Religion: WEB DuBois

15 5221 Joranko Social Action in the City* 6643 Segovia Materialist Biblical Criticism 6848 Rieger Theology, Economics, and Labor* 7002 Rogers-Vaughn Pastoral Care and Global Capitalism 7137 Townes Political Economy of Misery

16 Religion, Arts and Culture This concentration serves the student with interests in the mutually formative relationship of religion and the arts. Areas of inquiry include theological aesthetics, the role of art in fulfilling the societal mission of congregations and communities, the role of religion in literature, art s generative role in personal devotion, spiritual practice, and congregational life and identity. Practical courses in writing (creative, non-fiction, and song) are offered regularly and are an important component in the curriculum. Learning Goals: Student will demonstrate creative imagination in at least one of two streams of activity: A) The translation of theological concepts into images, sounds, movements, novels, plays, or poetry. B) In scholarship, preaching, worship design, and other modes of expressive theological reflection. Student will put her or his engagement with the arts into conversation with the broader components of her or his theological education. Student will build a greater recognition of the interconnections between religion and the arts and be able to articulate points of affinity between the two. Current Steering Committee: Dave Perkins (Convener), Lib Caldwell, Juan Floyd-Thomas, Victor Judge, John McClure Required Courses: Beauty & Belief: Issues in Theological Aesthetics (Perkins) Or, Writing Creatively About Religion (Judge) Additional Requirements: None. Praxis Options: 1. By working with the Field Education faculty to identify a learning context. 2. By fulfilling the praxis requirement in one of the following courses: Creativity (Perkins), Writing Creatively about Religion (Judge), Songwriting from a Theological Perspective (Perkins) Course Projections: 5402 Judge The Incarnational Art of Flannery O Connor 5420 Perkins Beauty & Belief: Seminar in Theological Aesthetics NEW BMM Faith, Film, and Pastoral Care NEW Perkins Music and Spiritual Formation Cross- List Caldwell/Neely Social Transformation as Depicted in Children and Young Adult Literature: Refugees and Immigrants

17 5404 Judge Religious Themes in the work of Albert Camus 6773 JFT Reel Black Faith Summer 2019 NEW Marbury Bible in Western Visual Media 5310 Caldwell God, Faith, and Art 5403 Judge Religious Themes in William Faulkner 5410 Judge Writing Creatively About Religion* 5421 Perkins Creativity: A Theological Engagement* 5433 Geller Religion and Film 6738 JHB Jesus in Modern America 7133 SFT Womanist Literature as a Resource for Ethics 5401 Judge Religious Questions in the Poetry of Emily Dickinson and Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J Perkins Songwriting from a Theological Perspective* 5434 Geller Religious Narrative and the Self 6518 Seow Job, Literature, and Visual Arts 6723 Michelson History of Early Christian Poetry 6928 McClure Popular Music and Religious Identity 7129 SFT/JFT Moral Philosophy of Black Popular Culture

18 Religion, Gender, and Sexuality This concentration allows students to explore the complex intellectual, historical, and practical interactions between religion, gender, and sexuality. Learning Goals: To prepare students with the intellectual and practical tools to work effectively on these issues with communities of faith. Current Steering Committee: Ellen Armour, Phillis Sheppard, Annalisa Azzoni Required Courses: None. However, we do anticipate requiring students to take one course in textual study (typically biblical studies) or historical studies, one course in theology or ethics and society, and one course in religion, psychology and culture. We will designate each semester specific courses that would count toward the concentration. Additional Requirements: Praxis Options: For MDiv students, typically by field ed. For MTS students, field ed would be one option, but other options could include other kinds of practice (an art exhibit or musical performance based on religion, gender, sexuality, a curated archive of historical or contemporary resources, etc.) that are integrated in to one of the designated courses. These should be approved both by the Concentration Convener and the course professor. Course Projections: 6522 Azzoni Sexuality in the HB and Ancient Near East 7037 Flesberg Shame and Guilt 7038 Flesberg Sexuality: Ethics, Theology, and Pastoral Practice 7121 Snarr Religion and Social Movements 7127 SFT Liberation Ethics 6845 Armour Feminist/Womanist Theology 7021 BMM Women, Psychology, and Religion 6532 Azzoni Marriage in the Beginning 7132 SFT Womanist Theological Ethics 7133 SFT Womanist Literature as a Resource for Ethics 6846 Armour Queer Theology

19 7022 Rogers-Vaughn Men, Psychology, and Religion 7023 BMM Bodies and Theological Knowledge Summer Godwin Sacred and Sexual: Effective Informed Sexuality Education for Faith Settings Courses that treat these topics are typically offered every semester and updated on the Carpenter website. Examples include but are not limited to Feminist/Womanist Theology (Armour or Schneider), Queer Theology (Armour or Schneider), Feminist/Womanist Ethics (S. Floyd-Thomas), Black women s Literature and Ethics (S. Floyd-Thomas), Women s Bodies, Politics, and Policy Making (S. Floyd-Thomas), Butch, Femme, and Queer Ethnographies and Narratives (Sheppard), Womanist Thought in Religion and Psychology (Sheppard), Ancient Goddesses (Azzoni), Marriage at the Beginning (Azzoni), Sexuality in the Bible and the Ancient Near East (Azzoni), Seminar in Shame and Guilt (Flesberg), Sexuality: Ethics, Theology and Pastoral Practice (Flesberg). In keeping with longstanding practice for the Certificate, we anticipate allowing students to take one course that is not designated for the Concentration and, with the instructor s and convener s permission, focusing their graded work on religion, gender, and sexuality as they pertain to the course s subject matter.

20 Spirituality and Social Activism The Spirituality and Social Activism concentration gives students interdisciplinary knowledge for integrating spirituality with vocations of activism. Students will be exposed to the historical and contemporary contexts in which spirituality and activism have helped generate movements for justice in the academy, religious communities, and society. Learning Goals: Reflect ethically, biblically, and pastorally on the practice of activism in light of spirituality Understanding and practice? of spirituality as an integral aspect for sustained commitment to social activism Developing capacity in creating public spaces for the integration of spirituality in activism Current Steering Committee: Phillis Sheppard (Convener), emilie townes, Herbert Marbury, Forrest Harris Required Courses: At least one of the following: Warrior Chants and Unquiet Spirits (Townes) Vexations: Religion and Politics in the Black Community (Townes) Spirituality and Activism (Sheppard) Liberation and Spirituality (Harris) Additional Requirements: None. Praxis Options: Students may: Choose an additional Field Education option. Develop VDS specific Forums on Spirituality and Social Activism as part of the assignment/work of a course. Prior approval by the Convener and professor required. Develop an independent course whereby their final assignment is a public activism project that includes a spirituality component. Course Projections: 5225 Harris Race, Religion, and Ethnicity in America 5244 Joranko Spiritual Community and Social Witness (Riverbend) 6706 Michelson Desert Spirituality in Early Christianity 7121 Snarr Religion and Social Movements 7142 Townes Vexations: Religion and Politics in the Black Community NEW Perkins Music and Spiritual Formation

21 NEW Sheppard Spirituality and Social Activism* 5220 Joranko Ecology, Religion, and Community Development (?) 6514 Marbury Exodus in African American Popular Biblical Interpretation Summer Caldwell God, Faith, and Art 6528 Marbury Eighth Century Prophecy 7029 Sheppard Evil, Aggression, and Cultural Trauma 5221 Joranko Social Action in the City (?) 5224 Harris Liberation and Spirituality 6571 Marbury African American Biblical Hermeneutics 7137 Townes Political Economy of Misery NEW Sheppard Interiority and Sociality: Black Women s Experience and Social Change 5215 Harris Religious Leadership and Liberation Praxis 5480 Schneider Native American Religious Traditions (?) 6573 Marbury African American Biblical Interpretation I 6706 Michelson Desert Spirituality in Early Christianity Summer Sheppard Latin@/x Pastoral Care and Theology (Maymester)